Photo by Merlijn Doomerik
During this year’s Jazz en Route festival in The Hague, the Jerry van Rooyen Award will be presented for the second time. The music prize is awarded biennially to leading musicians from the Dutch jazz scene who deserve greater recognition for their artistry and ambition. The professional jury—Jarmo Hoogendijk, Jan van Duikeren, Ben van den Dungen and Henk Meutgeert—has unanimously selected the winner of the 2025 Jerry van Rooyen Award: trumpeter and KC Jazz alum Ellister van der Molen.
For over 25 years, Ellister has been among the foremost figures in Dutch jazz, earning acclaim both as a soloist and as a sideman. Colleagues and audiences praise her lyrical lines, warm sound and anything-but-polite swing. These qualities can already be heard on her debut album Smalls NYC, released in 2014 and presented at the North Sea Jazz Festival. As a soloist and bandleader, she performs with the Ellister van der Molen Quartet and with RED, the Hammond-based ensemble with Bob Wijnen, with whom she released the albums Ahooo (2018) and NOLA (2020). Ellister is also a member of several orchestras, including the Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw, the Amsterdam Art Orchestra and the New York Round Midnight Orchestra. In recent years she has appeared on stages worldwide, including in Glastonbury, New Delhi, Pori and Montpellier, and has performed numerous times at the North Sea Jazz Festival. Finally, Ellister is a key ambassador for the national jazz scene, known for her long-standing and widely respected commitment to the interests of Dutch jazz musicians.
Award to be presented by Matthijs van Nieuwkerk at Hotel Des Indes on 28 November
Ellister van der Molen will receive the Jerry van Rooyen Award on the evening of Saturday 28 November, presented by broadcaster and passionate jazz enthusiast Matthijs van Nieuwkerk. He interviewed Ack van Rooyen in 2020 about his life and career in music. The conversation, which Van Nieuwkerk remembers fondly, can be viewed here. The award ceremony will take place during the opening concert of Jazz en Route 2025 at Hotel Des Indes in The Hague. During the concert by New York vocalist Marjorie Barnes & the Peter Beets Trio, Ellister van der Molen will also appear as a guest soloist.
The Jerry van Rooyen Award was established in 2020 by Ack van Rooyen (1930–2021) and fellow musicians, in collaboration with the Jazz en Route festival. The new national music prize was first awarded in 2023 to Joan Reinders. The award also honours the musical legacy of arranger, composer and conductor Jerry van Rooyen. In addition to a sculpture by Toon Tullemans, the prize includes a sum of 5,000 euros, to be used by the winner for a musical project.
Ellister studied jazz trumpet at the Royal Conservatoire, graduating in 2000. More information on the KC Jazz department and its programmes, please read here.
Website Ellister van der Molen
Website Ack and Jerry van Rooyen Foundation
Website Jazz en Route
